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A 76-year-old American passenger died on a Vietnam Airlines flight from Guangzhou to Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, after his relatives decided to take the flight despite the airlines’ warnings about his health conditions.

The passenger, identified only as an American man who lives in Tay Ninh Province, 100 kilometers to the northwest fof Ho Chi Minh City, had checked in at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport where Vietnam Airlines staff asked for doctor’s examination after seeing him not in good health.

The airport doctor decided that he should not take the two-and-a-half hour flight but his relatives signed a document that exempts responsibility of the carrier for his health, Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper reported.

About two hours after take-off, his health turned bad and the flight crew had to ask for help from passengers who are doctors, but to no avail.

His relatives said he was taken to Guangzhou for treatment of some disease and that he was discharged for bad health conditions.

After arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, his body was taken to a morgue on the request of his relatives.